Where did you all come from?

Question

The first time I met someone who was openly an atheist was only nine years ago.

I come to Y/A, and atheists are everywhere (weeds! . . . . . kidding!).

Are there more atheists, are more people comfortable with talking about it publicly, or is it simply because we're in a "safe" environment?

Agnostics, too. My peeps!

Sorry, U.S. here.

Good point, Pangel. :)

Answer 1

Hi, Good Twin.

Before Y!A (This year), I had only met one out-of-the-closet atheist in my life. I'm not sure I had ever met one out-of-the-closet agnostic.

It's probably because it's safer here. In real life, you can lose friends if you suddenly start announcing it.

I'm from southern California, by the way. A hop, skip, and jump away from Jack B. ;)

Answer 2

Well it seems more people are becoming somewhat disenfranchised with religion as a whole. Atheists tend to be "educated" people and we have more "educated" people now than ever before.

Anonymity has it's benefits to those afraid to speak their mind in the open, and then there are probably a lot of people who are just playing "devil's advocate" too. A lot of people like healthy debate and some of the questions on here definitely stir thought. That's a good thing.

As for where I came from... to quote a movie character "Lots of places."

Answer 3

There are a limited number of fora where religious beliefs can be discussed. R&S is less like a garden filled with us weeds and more like a bird feeder with flocks gathered around it. Or a rotting corpse with a cloud of flies - take your pick.

The percentage of Atheists in the U.S. is still pretty small and the number of Atheists who discuss their views in mixed company is smaller still. Our presence in R&S is way out of proportion to our presence in the general population. Note that this also applies to the fundamentalists here.

Answer 4

I never met an Athiest until I visited R&S for the first time. Their everywhere here. Its because Athiest cannot get offended by the Bible Basher Monsters that patrol around this section.

Answer 5

I think there are a whole lot more of us than anyone realizes. It's just that in our daily lives, most of us aren't communicative about our lack of belief because of the likelihood of stigma and discrimination in a society where the government and many employers are openly Christian.
Here we can discuss our ideas openly and freely without any fear of negative consequences, other than the occasional bible-thumping nut job calling us childish names and reporting all our answers as "abuse".

Answer 6

Where do you live? In Canada you can pretty much say you're an atheist without ruffling too many feathers (especially in Ontario and Quebec). Atheism wasn't always as socially acceptible but I assure you we've always been here.

Answer 7

More people are atheist/agnostic, and more comfortable talking about it too. That and this is an impersonal forum, so you're bound to see more of it.

Answer 8

I'm more comfortable saying I'm atheist, but only if I know the people I'm telling well, or if I know them and they ask me. And because people will never know my true identity on here, unless one of my friends rats me out.

We came from behind the bushes.

Answer 9

I was born and grew up in São Paulo, Brazil. Live now in Vila Velha/ES. It's a beautiful coastal city, six hours north (by car) from Rio de Janeiro. :)


Good Night!! :)

Answer 10

i came from the planet »ЛЯною

lol seriously i felt wonderful when i met the atheists here. i couldn't believe that there were so many people out there who think the way i do. the wiccans are great too.